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THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME
In June 1971, Helene Hanff travelled to London and visited the site of Marks & Co, the bookshop that had been dear to her for 20 years. While Hanff was very happy to finally step foot on British soil the visit carried with it a sad irony (讽刺), which she explained in a 1980 television interview with Dick Cavett: “It was very sad,” she said. “It was the bookstore manager Frank Doel’s death that made me want to write the story of our correspondence and when a publisher bought it, I went to London on the proceeds of the sale.”
Hanff spent the early part of her career trying to make a name for herself as a playwright. London-based writer Monica Porter, who met her in the 1980s, says that Hanff considered herself a “failed playwright” and that her 1961 book Underfoot in Show Business was an account of her failure to get her plays produced. A decade after 84, Charing Cross Road was published, James Roose-Evans adapted the book for the stage and the play was a West End hit.
It had a 16-month run and Hanff finally got to taste stage success, albeit (虽然；即使) in a circuitous (迂回的) way. In a piece that Porter wrote for the British weekly newspaper, The Stage, she says Hanff was led on stage at the end of the opening night performance to thunderous applause. “To get a standing ovation(热烈的鼓掌) like that, taking curtain calls before an enthusiastic audience, was something she must often have dreamt about,” Porter wrote.
The stage adaptation opened in the US a year later, but never lived up to its West End success. This was to Hanff’s great relief. According to Porter, she once recounted: “Being a celebrity for a week in London had been the most fun I’d had in my life, and wonderful for the ego (自我) - but only because I’d known I was coming home at the end of it, home to the quiet, orderly, solitary(独立的), unglamorous life I was made for.”
However, her peace was not to last: Hollywood came calling. The 1987 film of 84 Charing Cross Road, produced by Mel Brooks, won several awards.
Anne Bancroft starred as Hanff. Doel was played by Anthony Hopkins. Hanff died in New York in 1997 from diabetes-related complications. Today, the Marks & Co building is a restaurant with a plaque on its street frontage that commemorates(纪念) the author that made the site so famous. And Hanff’s unlikely bestseller remains in print.What made Helene Hanff want to write the story of their correspondence?
| A．The trip to the bookstore. |
| B．The death of the bookstore manager. |
| C．A decade after 84, Charing Cross Road was published. |
| D．Visiting the site of Marks & Co, the bookshop. |
It took Hanff the early part of her career to _______.
| A．finally step foot on British soil |
| B．commemorate the author that made the site so famous |
| C．try to make a name for herself as a playwright |
| D．get to taste stage success |
What made Hanff feel relieved?
| A．The stage adaptation that never lived up to its West End success. |
| B．The 1987 film of 84 Charing Cross Road winning several awards. |
| C．James Roose-Evans adapting the book for the stage. |
| D．A piece that Porter wrote for the British weekly newspaper, The Stage. |
Nowadays the Marks & Co building is _______.
| A．a famous bookstore |
| B．a restaurant in hour of the author |
| C．a theater where people can enjoy plays |
| D．a stage for West End hit |
People think that writing short stories is easy because they are short. But in fact they are hard to write well. There are only a few writers of good short stories and the American writer O. Henry is one of them.
His real name was William Sydney Porter and he grew up in North Carolina. He was not very successful at school but he loved reading. When he was about twenty years old he left North Carolina and moved to Texas. He thought there would be more opportunities for work there. At first he worked on a newspaper but as this did not provide enough money he changed his job. He decided to work in a bank. All went well until some money went missing. William was believed to have stolen it and was sent to prison. Although this was a horrible experience it helped in one way because he realized that he could write well. William began writing short stories and O. Henry was born! When he left prison he began writing as a career and published many of his stories. They were mostly about the people that he met or he knew in New York and they had interesting or surprising endings. People enjoyed reading them. His life, however, was not a happy one. He drank too much and died in 1910 in New York but he left behind stories that are still read and enjoyed by millions of people. In which order did O. Henry do the following things?
a. Lived in New York. b. Worked in a bank.
c. Travelled to Texas. d. Was put in prison.
e. Had a newspaper job. f. Learned to write stories.
| A．e, c, f, b, d, a | B．c, e, b, d, f, a |
| C．e, b, d, c, a, f | D．c, b, e, d, a, f |
People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because .
| A．they had surprise endings |
| B．they were easy to understand |
| C．they showed his love for the poor |
| D．they were about New York City |
O. Henry went to prison because .
| A．people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper |
| B．he broke the law by using violence |
| C．he wanted to write stories about prisoners |
| D．people thought he had taken money that was not his |
What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?
| A．He was well-educated. | B．He was not serious about his work. |
| C．He was devoted to the poor. | D．He loved reading. |
Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?
| A．His life inside the prison. |
| B．The newspaper articles he wrote. |
| C．The city and people of New York. |
| D．His exciting early life as a boy. |
Mr. Backer is a kind-hearted man. Once he gave some food to a poor woman . Mr White, the boss of the restaurant, found it and became angry. He often gave the leftovers(剩饭菜) to some poor workers. Mr. Backers lost his work for it. It was difficult for him to find work in the small country though he was an able cook. The war made all stop. Children couldn't go to school, most shops were closed, even some farmers were hungry. Some people were made to leave their houses and they had to find the safe places. It was an autumn night. Mr Backer hadn't any food to eat and went to bed, but he couldn't fall asleep, because he was very hungry . suddenly he heard a noise in his room. He saw a man looking for something useful there. He said nothing and watched it carefully. At last the man took a few old clothes out of a broken paper box and took them away. He got up from his bed quickly and followed him gently(文雅地), with his quilt on his back. The man didn't find him and went into a small and wet house. Mr. Backer also went in and saw there was nothing in the room. The thief(贼) saw him and was surprised. He asked, “What did you come here for?” “You have carried my things here,” said Mr. Backer. “I have to move here, too!”Mr White sent Mr. Backer away because .
| A．he couldn't cook |
| B．he didn't work hard |
| C．he didn't like him at all |
| D．he gave some leftovers to the poor woman |
, so the people in the small country got into trouble.
| A．The war broke out(爆发) |
| B．It didn't rain |
| C．Children couldn't go to school |
| D．Shops and factories were closed |
Mr. Backer couldn't go to sleep because.
| A．the weather was cold | B．the weather was hot |
| C．he was hungry | D．he was ill |
Mr. Backer said nothing when the thief went into his room because .
| A．he wanted to send him to the police station |
| B．there was nothing expensive there |
| C．he was afraid the man could hurt him |
| D．he hoped the man could help him |
The underlined word“quilt” in this story means .
| A．珠宝 | B．钱箱 | C．被子 | D．鞋带 |
New research shows sheep are clever
People often make jokes about how dull sheep are, but new research shows they may be cleverer than we think. Researchers at the University of Cambridge discovered that Welsh mountain sheep have brainpower that equals rodents (啮齿动物). Tests found that the sheep can map the area they live in, and some may even be able to plan ahead.
Young fish prefer noisy neighbors
A new study has shown that young fish like to live on reefs with noisy neighbors! Researchers from the universities of Auckland and Bristol found that young fish looking for a home choose areas where other noisy fish live. The scientists produced all kinds of sounds which had been recorded in different natural environments. The young fish seemed to prefer the sounds of natural reefs, complete with noisy animals! The scientists compared the choice to a music fan wandering around at a music festival, choosing to set up a tent closest to the music they like best!
Butterflies are disappearing
A new study has shown that 17 species (物种) of butterfly found in Europe have dropped by 70% in the last 20 years. The information collected from 3,000 sites across 15 countries shows it may be caused by the loss (减少) of grasslands covered with flowers. You can encourage butterflies to come into your garden by planting flowers. What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Some new studies about animals. |
| B．People’s wrong ideas about animals. |
| C．Why the number of animals has dropped. |
| D．The importance of protecting animals. |
According to the first paragraph, we may infer that sheep _____.
| A．are less clever than rodents |
| B．can find their home |
| C．can read maps |
| D．are good planners |
When young fish are looking for a home, they like to _____.
| A．live in a noisy environment |
| B．live in areas close to their parents |
| C．choose the reefs which are quiet |
| D．choose other kinds of fish as neighbors |
Which seems to have to do with the number of butterflies?
| A．The species of grass in grasslands. |
| B．The species of trees in grasslands. |
| C．The number of flowers in grasslands. |
| D．The number of animals in grasslands. |
In which part of a newspaper can we most probably read the passage?
| A．Geography. | B．Culture. | C．Travel. | D．Nature |
In the near future, we may be using our eyes to operate our smart-phones and tablets, even when it comes to playing popular games like Fruit Ninja.
The Gaze Group has been developing eye-controlled computer technology for nearly 20 years. But those devices have been firstly designed to help those with disabilities, and are very expensive.
“After a while, we figured out that probably the best way is to go for a mass-market way,” says Gaze’s Sune Alstrup Johansen. “where everybody would have this available."
Johansen and some of his colleagues have formed a new company, the Eye Tribe, which is hoping to develop the technology on a mass commercial level.
The technology works with the help of the computing device toward the user’s face. After making sure of the user’s eye movements, the technology is then able to easily find where a person’s eyes are moving, and then allow the eyes to control a cursor(光标).
“Our software can then determine the location of the eyes and know where you’re looking on the screen to make sure what you’re looking at, ” reads an explanation on the Eye Tribe site.
There has been a gradual change toward hands-free technology in recent years, particularly in the gaming world. Recently Xbox released the Kinect device, which lets users control their Xbox and play certain games using only their hands, legs and voices. But still, most of these devices have been more of a gimmick than a practical way to use one’s hands to control a mobile device. Johansen said a replaceable filter(滤光器)would be a cheap, convenient way for most consumers.
And even as companies like The Eye Tribe work to create such a product for the average user, making the eye-controlled technology more accessible and less expensive will have similar benefits for physically disabled users.
For more articles on modern science，please CLICK here．Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?
| A．An introduction of eye-controlling technology |
| B．An introduction of a new device. |
| C．An introduction of smart-phones |
| D．An introduction of a new technology for the disabled. |
The underlined word “gimmick” probably means ___________.
| A．a way | B．a trick | C．a lie | D．a dream |
According to the passage, we can learn that ___________.
| A．the eye-controlling technology was first developed for the blind |
| B．the present developing of the technology will bring no good |
| C．the eye-controlling technology is only intended for the disabled people |
| D．there is no such a phone as we can use only with our eyes at present |
This passage is probably taken from ___________.
| A．an experiment report | B．a science fiction |
| C．a science website | D．a school textbook |
Aggressive pedestrians are in fact as dangerous as careless drivers. They cause traffic accidents, injury and death. These dangerous walkers can be seen in any big city all over the world. About 69% of last year’s pedestrian deaths in the US occurred in urban areas. They cross streets ignoring “DON’T WALK” signals, suddenly appear without warning from behind parked vehicles, walk slowly at crossroads with cell phones attached to heads, blocking traffic.
These pedestrians and drivers share a common disregard for the rules of the road, both for selfish reasons. The drivers believe in the power of their machines. If their machines can go faster, they believe they have the right to go faster. If their machines are bigger, they believe they have the right to push smaller vehicles aside. Aggressive pedestrians, on the other hand, believe in the primacy(首位) of the individual, the idea that they are first in any environment, under any circumstances, even when they are on foot in a roaring tide of steel and rubber.
Last year, an estimated 5,220 pedestrians died in traffic accidents. Some 69,000 pedestrians were injured. On average, that worked out to one pedestrian killed in a traffic crash every 101 minutes, and one injured every eight minutes.
The good news is that the accident rate is dropping. For example, the number of pedestrians killed last year was 24 percent less than the number killed in traffic accidents a decade earlier. The bad news is that the basic causes of pedestrian deaths remain pretty much the same----disregard for traffic signals, inattention and crossing roads under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Alcohol, in fact, was involved in 46 percent of the traffic accidents that resulted in pedestrian deaths. Of those, 31 percent of the pedestrians were found to be drunk.
The bottom line is that the pedestrians must do more to protect their lives as well as the lives of other road users. They can start by obeying traffic signals, using marked cross-walks and calling a cab when they’ve had too much to drink.The passage is mainly about _____.
| A．what the traffic rules of the road about pedestrians were |
| B．why so many Americans were killed on roads last year |
| C．how aggressive pedestrians cause traffic accidents |
| D．who are to blame for pedestrian deaths, drunk drivers or the aggressive pedestrians |
What is the pedestrians’ selfish reason for traffic jams?
| A．They believe individuals are always first. |
| B．They know all drivers are skilled and with great care. |
| C．They think traffic rules have nothing to do with them. |
| D．They guess all vehicles will slow down at crossroads. |
What was NOT the basic cause of pedestrian deaths in the US a decade ago?
| A．Disregard for traffic signals |
| B．Paying no attention to surroundings. |
| C．Overspeeding driving. |
| D．Crossing roads drunk. |
What word can best describe the author’s attitude to the traffic accidents caused by pedestrians?
| A．Excited. | B．Cold. | C．Unconnected. | D．Concerned |